Why are the graphics in Mario Kart Wii so bad?

Seriously, they look quite bad. And I'm not alone in this opinion. The dudes over at IGN (including folks who have played it) have likewise stated that they are quite terrible. They honestly look worse than those on the GC version. How is that even possible? How can they be going backwards? They appear to be somewhere between those in the N64 version and those in the GC version.

perhapses they concentrated more on the gameplay aspect than the graphics? I'm suer there's a reason as to why the games looks so shabby, but I think they'll make up for the visual shortcomings with the game content...i hope :scared:

I must admit it isn't what I expected it to be, but to say it's worst than the GC version is exaggerating, don't you think? Just look at both version screenshot and compare.. I think they're, at best, on pare. If you look at the map, which I think will be more important part in the racing game, it's pretty well done.
I'm still a little disappointed. But hopefully content makes up for it : ) 35 tracks~
While racing with twelve other player who cares if DK's arm is sort of blocky, you gotta push that pedal and drift!

The side-by-side pics (thanks for posting those!) pretty much put a big "case closed" stamp on this subject as far as I'm concerned. And as also pointed out the graphics can even be fine tuned a bit more prior to release, but I think they look fine so far.

This constant chatter about Wii's inferior graphics really gets on my nerves. Those of us who prefer the Wii game play style could care LESS and most games on this first gen Wii can not be made better by holding back release dates to tweak anyways - the first Wii on the market is what it is and for what it cost, I think it's right on track.

Think of part of your Wii purchase price as encouraging Nintendo and the entire gaming industry towards more of a full-body "virtual reality" gaming style and you'll realize every penny was well spent and that it's the game playing style that matters in this and all Wii game titles. Nintendo's first party releases tend to have spectacular mechanics, so I'm not concerned one bit that this game will be worth getting.

I dont think its backwards from Double Dash, But its not even much of a leap forward. the picture is clearer but some of the shapes are awful.. could have done a better job of it thats for sure...

Maybe they rushed it out with the popularity.

Looks like a good idea that wasn't finnished.. Sad but still is gonna be a great game.

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Actually, the graphics in those screenshots aren't that bad. I'd say those are even acceptable (although no where near the potential of the Wii). Those are no doubt high def graphics (or as best as the Wii can do). I've seen some screenshots that depict pretty terrible graphics, such as that one in the Mario Kart Battle thread.

thas said:

I dont really see why you people are complaining. maybe its just me, but those graphics look pretty good. They are a little plain I could care less. I believe that the main focus here is the gameplay.

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Still, why can't we have BOTH great graphics AND great gameplay. 360 owners get it...

EXACTLY. When games are developed, the first thing they focus on is gameplay. Adjusting the difficulty, designing the levels, working out bugs etc...
Then, when all of that is taken care of, they use ALL of their remaining time polishing the game up the best that they can before it has to go into physical production.

That's why, as CrowTRobot said, Metroid looked significantly better in the end than it did upon first being revealed. Though I bet the gameplay was virtually identical. They put the luxury changes at the end of production because they're less important.
MarioKart will look great, I assure you. Especially since it's a first party Nintendo game, and what was the last BAD-LOOKING one of those?!
Super Mario Galaxy had beautiful graphics, this surely will too.
Besides, those screen shots don't even look that bad, they look like they were taken from a low-resolution tv or something, you can definitely see some evidence of it being a poor display rather than the in-game graphics themselves.
It's gonna be awesome, just wait.